The board game market in France

Board games are generally considered to be intellectual games, often calling on the mind. flexion, but they can also call on chance, memory, skill, observation, alertness, common sense...

Board games have always existed, handed down from generation to generation in different forms depending on the culture. The oldest surviving board games are Egyptian, such as Mehen, a kind of goose game. They developed all over the world and even in France under Louis XIV, with apartment parties becoming institutionalized. In the 20ᵉ century, board games became published products, with one or more authors, a publisher, manufacturers and distributors.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the board game sector experienced a meteoric acceleration. There was a wealth of production, with almost 3,000 titles published worldwide every year.

New types of games were emerging, with more "marketed" products aimed at different audiences (mood games, family games, expert games, etc.).

Board games have distinguished themselves by their ability to withstand the test of time, and today they are still at the heart of French leisure consumption habits. From Go to Monopoly and 1000 terminals, board games have earned a special place in the leisure habits of French households. some games, such as Dungeons & Dragons or Diplomatie, create and unite entire communities and a myriad of derivative products.

Hard to define in absolute terms, board games are generally characterized by :

More or less complex rules;

A minimum of 2 participants

The need for one or more material supports (game board, pawns, pen, dice, cards)

In France, in 2023, almost 90,000 boxes of board games were sold every day, making it one of the European leaders in the sector.

In fact, 91% of French people play board games regularly, making them one of the world's most enthusiastic fans of this type of entertainment. The board game sector in France has a multitude of players, with 114 publishers in 2022, making it difficult for independent publishers to stand out from the crowd. This diversity gives consumers greater purchasing power, and they can afford to be more demanding.

Moreover, one of the practices of publishers is to make their most popular games available in different versions, like Dobble with Disney and Marvel variants, or Uno with Super Mario Bros versions or a Junior version for the little ones. As far as consumers are concerned, the trio of board games most popular with the French are Monopoly, UNO and Scrabble. The rise of game bars is also contributing to market growth. Customers can try out games, then decide to buy them and play them at home.